FTSE 100 climbs 0.8% as miners jump on metals and Shell and BP slip with oil

The FTSE 100 is rising on Monday because metals are up and oil is down. At 13:46 UTC (8:46 AM ET) the index traded at 10,757.9, a gain of 0.79% from Friday's close of 10,673.9, according to Yahoo Finance data. A Yahoo Finance UK headline put the gain at 0.40% earlier in the session. The index has widened its lead since then, so we use the current figure and flag that intraday numbers move.

Miners lead, oil majors lag

Source: Yahoo Finance. Percent changes are our arithmetic. Mid-session prints can reverse before the 4:30 PM London close.

The miners are tracking the commodities they dig up. Gold futures are at $4,135.70, up 1.49%. Silver is at $52.84, up 2.0%, and copper is at $6.33 a pound, up 1.87%, all per Yahoo Finance. Fresnillo, a silver and gold producer, and Antofagasta, a copper producer, are two of the biggest gainers on the board. Our gold story covers why bullion is rebounding, and Barrick's third-quarter profit rise on higher gold prices, noted in our pre-market brief, adds to the tone for gold producers.

Oil is the other half

Front-month Brent futures are at $93.64, down 4.76% from $98.32, and WTI is at $86.77, down 4.47%, Yahoo Finance shows. Shell and BP are down 1.06% and 0.55%, a far smaller drop than crude's, which keeps the index positive. Our overnight reporting tied the slide to President Trump's comment that renewed strikes on Iran are "highly unlikely" while talks continue, as covered in our earlier story. We have not confirmed any other cause for today's oil move.

The number behind the number

A 0.79% index gain hides a lopsided day. Five miners in the table are up between 2.2% and 5.3%, while two oil majors are down. Domestic UK stocks are not carrying the move: the mid-cap FTSE 250 is up a smaller 0.55%, and sterling is down 0.29% against the dollar at $1.3417. A weaker pound lifts the sterling value of dollar earnings, which helps FTSE 100 exporters, though we did not isolate it as a driver.

Who it hits

A UK haulage or logistics firm with a fuel bill sees the benefit of cheaper crude first, but pump prices lag crude by days to weeks, so a one-morning drop may not reach the forecourt. A US importer paying in sterling gets a slightly better rate. Anyone holding a UK index fund is mostly exposed to this miners-versus-oil split.

What to watch

Tuesday's US October consumer price index (8:30 AM ET, per the BLS schedule) could move the dollar and metals. A stronger dollar would pressure gold and copper, the two things driving London's leaders today. The final FTSE 100 close is at 4:30 PM London time, and today's gain could shrink or grow by then. See the markets page for live levels.

Sources: Yahoo Finance market data (FTSE 100, FTSE 250, UK stocks, Brent, WTI, gold, silver, copper, sterling); Yahoo Finance UK headline (article text not read); BLS; Chronicle reporting. Some data may be delayed. This is market information, not investment advice.